Paradise
by TimeMistressAquaKlaroline4ever
Summary: Claire wakes up on an island with no memory of how she got there. What's worse is that she isn't alone. Sylar and Elle are on the island with her! Will they be able to put aside their differences long enough to survive and escape?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Welcome to the first installment in my series of short stories about the misadventures of Sylar and Claire. I'm not actually sure what made me want to do this, but I thought it seemed like a fun idea so I decided to give it a try. In this first story, Elle will also have a main role. Now, this takes place between volumes three and four, but in my story, Sylar never killed Elle. That's why it's in the AU category. Other canons may appear in my stories but of course, they will be centered on Sylar and Claire. Please enjoy and don't forget to review!**

**I DO NOT OWN HEROES**

A breeze blowing her hair in her face and the strong smell of brine woke Claire from her sleep. She blinked open her blue green eyes and what she saw made her gasp. She sat up quickly like she had received an electric shock.

The last thing she remembered was watching Primatech burn to the ground after her birth mother exploded during their last encounter with Sylar. Now she appeared to be on some kind of beach somewhere. She stood up slowly, taking in her surroundings. She tried to stay calm and observe the situation objectively like her father had taught her. "Alright, I can do this… I'm on a beach with no idea how I got here, but panicking won't solve anything. Now, let's figure out the facts. You can do this Claire." she muttered to herself. She was in a small alcove surrounded by palm trees, pristine white sand shifting under her bare feet. Strangely she found that the oddest thing about her circumstances. Why was she barefoot? If she had been kidnapped by someone, why would they have taken her shoes off? She shook her head. This whole situation made no sense. She decided the best thing she could do was figure out exactly where she was and then work on finding a way to get back to her family. Her dad had to be looking for her by now. She would just do her best to take care of herself until he arrived.

She exited the grove of palm trees and was stunned to see an endless azure ocean like none she had ever seen stretched out in all directions before her incredulous eyes. Was she in the Caribbean? Maybe the Mediterranean? She had no idea but she knew that she wasn't in California anymore. If this was a coast somewhere else though, she could eventually find a town and someone who could help her, or at least tell her where she was. Then an alarming thought struck her. What if she was on an island? She glanced around with dread sinking into her stomach like a stone. If that was the case, then she was trapped. Then she mentally slapped herself. All she had to do was call Peter or Nathan and they could fly here and pick her up no problem. "Duh Claire… some agent you are…." she murmured. She reached in the pocket of her black jacket for her cell phone but found that it was missing. She searched her other pockets, all around her, and then ran back to where she had woken up, but there was no sign of it anywhere. She sighed in resignation. She had had the feeling things wouldn't be that simple. A girl could hope though couldn't she? She felt a sickening feeling of déjà-vu as she realized how much this predicament was like being under lockdown in Primatech. Someone was manipulating the situation. But who? Sylar was dead. Was Angela doing this? Or was it Noah? Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes at that thought, but she quickly wiped them away. She wasn't going to allow the person who had done this to have the satisfaction of getting to her.

As she was contemplating her next move, the breeze carried the scent of smoke to her nose. Something was on fire! Her thoughts flashed back to the traumatic experience of watching her biological mother Meredith lose control of her pyrokinetic ability and not being able to do anything to save her. She immediately began to run towards the source of the smoke. She cursed as she tripped over a rock, not because it hurt, for she could no longer feel pain, but because it reminded her of her utter helplessness, despite the fact that she couldn't get hurt. If only she wasn't so clumsy and slow, maybe she would have been able to save her mother. Shaking off these clinging thoughts, she located the fire and began to kick sand on it. As she was working, a falsely cheery voice that she hadn't thought she would ever hear again piped up behind her.

"Hey Cheerleader. What brings you here?"

**So, what do you guys think so far? I apologize that it's such a short chapter, but this is kind of just the opening to get your bearings on Claire's situation. The other chapters will be longer I promise. I love cliffhangers. Why is Claire on an island with no memory of how she got there? Who is behind it? Why is Elle on the island with her? Will they be able to find a way off? What other mysteries is the island hiding? As you know from the summary, Sylar is also on the island somewhere, but where? The one thing you can be sure of is that when these three get together, mayhem and drama will ensue. **


	2. Chapter 2

_"Hey Cheerleader. What brings you here?"_

Claire spun around. "Elle!" she hissed in shock and surprise. She looked the other blond girl up and down. She looked… distraught almost, although she hid it pretty well.

Elle chuckled. "Hey Claire. So, it seems that I'm not the only one stuck on this miserable mound of sand." she said.

"So this is an island… I suspected as much." Claire murmured. She looked up at Elle again. The last time she had seen Elle was right after the eclipse ended. She had been working with Sylar and had come to bring Claire to Pinehearst. Then Hiro came and teleported Sylar and Elle away somewhere. Was this where he had taken them? "I just woke up here. What about you? Do you know what's going on?" she asked.

Elle shrugged. "I'm as clueless as you Cheerleader. I was wandering around on the stupid beach that that Japanese guy had teleported me to by myself after I was abandoned…. okay I deserved it…. and then I blacked out. Next thing I know, I was waking up on another stupid beach. That fire happened by accident when I woke up." she replied, waving a hand at it dismissively.

Claire finished putting it out while she thought about what Elle had said. "So this isn't where Hiro teleported you originally?" she asked curiously.

Elle shook her head, frowning slightly. "Nope. He teleported me and Sylar to a beach not to far from where we had been. I was umm…. left alone…. after….. well, none of your business." she muttered.

Claire cocked her head to the side. "Uh-huh. Well, whatever happened between you two, you were lucky that you weren't killed." she said.

Elle turned away. "Lucky. Right. Maybe I deserved to die…" she said quietly.

Claire sighed. "Anyway, we may not like it, but we should work together to get off this island." she suggested.

Elle narrowed her eyes at the other blond. "I abandoned you at Pinehearst, tried to shoot your father, and then tried to kidnap you and drag you to Arthur and you want to work with me?" she asked incredulously.

"I said I didn't like it, but yes, for now at least. We'll never get out of here if we don't. I could really use your help." Claire said grudgingly. She didn't trust Elle, but she hoped they could get along enough to figure things out and be able to help each other. Neither of them wanted to be stuck here forever. Plus, Claire had almost become friends with her once. That counted for something right?

Elle didn't look happy but she would go along with Claire's plan for a little while. "Alright Claire, what do you suggest we do now?" she asked, a faintly mocking tone in her voice.

Claire thought for a moment. "Well, in movies, the first thing the stranded people do is gather food and water, then build a shelter. I can survive without those things because of my ability, but you can't and I would like to still eat and drink." she said.

Elle smirked. "You think I don't know that? I already gathered what measly food I could find in this place. The parts I explored at least. As for water… have you seen any fresh water around here?" she asked. She gestured halfheartedly at the small mound of coconuts and fruit next to a mat of palm fronds she had used as a sad excuse for a bed over night.

Claire looked at her with her hands on her hips. "I told you I just woke up. How am I supposed to have found water already? We have to explore this place to find some. Hopefully, we can find more food as well. Then we can work on some kind of shelter. Let's just hope the weather stays like this." she said, glancing up at the clear sky. She turned and began walking towards the center of the island where there appeared to be a dense forest. "We'll start there. That's as good a place as any." she called to Elle who was plodding along behind her.

Claire didn't understand how she had gotten into this mess, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone or anything stop her from getting out of it.


End file.
